1. Field
The present invention relates to a cleaning or care apparatus for medical and dental instruments, in particular the connecting device of a cleaning or care apparatus or a cleaning cassette of a cleaning or care apparatus.
2. Description of Prior Art
Such an apparatus is known from the Austrian patent AT 400 105 B. For connecting a medical instrument that is to be cleaned, one or more connecting devices to which the instrument is attached by plug or push connection are provided on the apparatus. As an alternative, an instrument to be cleaned may also be attached to a connecting device of a cleaning cassette as disclosed in the German application DE 31 17 264. The cleaning cassette is then inserted into the cleaning or care apparatus. The connecting devices for the cleaning or care apparatus or the cleaning cassette are connected and/or connectable to one or more sources of media and carry the media through the interior into the instrument to be cleaned. The media, e.g., compressed air, cleaning agent, disinfectant or lubricant, are then conveyed under pressure into the instruments to be cleaned. It is therefore necessary to take measures to ensure that an instrument to be cleaned is not displaced from the connecting device due to the pressure during a cleaning or care process, so that leakage occurs in the area of transfer of the media into the instruments and at least some media escapes or the instrument is not disengaged entirely from the connecting device.
Various measures for securely attaching the instrument attached to the connecting device are known from the state of the art. With a known cleaning cassette, the connecting device is designed so that the frictional resistance between the connecting device and the attached instrument is high enough so that the instrument is not detached by the pressure. However, this also increases the force required for attaching the instrument to the connecting device and for releasing the instrument from the connecting device in a manner which is a disadvantage, so that such a connecting device is difficult for the user to operate.
Known cleaning and care apparatuses having connecting devices for an instrument that is to be cleaned include blocking mechanisms to be operated by the user. An exemplary embodiment of such a blocking mechanism is illustrated as an example in FIG. 1 as part of a known connecting device 100. The connecting device 100 comprises a plug pin 101 to which an instrument that is to be cleaned is attached by pushing it onto the pin and/or connected by plug, a flange 102 and a blocking mechanism 103. One or more media are supplied to the connecting device 100 through a line 108. The blocking mechanism 103 consists of a blocking element 104 with a nose 105, a pin 106 and a pushbutton 107. Pin 106 is accommodated in a bore in the flange 102 and is prestressed by a spring which is also arranged in the flange 102. Blocking element 104 is accommodated in a groove in the pin connector 101 and is connected to the pin 106. If an instrument is attached to the pin connector 101, a shoulder of the coupling pipe of the instrument is pushed over the nose 105 and presses the nose 105 and the blocking element 104 into the groove. As soon as the shoulder has slipped over the nose 105, the nose 105 returns to its original position, as illustrated in FIG. 1, where it protrudes above the surface of the pin connector 101 and engages behind the shoulder of the instrument so that the instrument is secured on the connecting device. To release the instrument, the user must depress the pushbutton 107 against the spring force (toward the bottom in FIG. 1), so that the blocking element 104 and nose 105 are moved into the groove and the instrument can be pulled away from the pin connector as long as the pushbutton 107 remains depressed.
One disadvantage of this type of blocking mechanism is that it must be operated by the user, but it is often difficult to gain access to the pushbutton and in most cases one must use two hands to operate the pushbutton while removing the instrument at the same time.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to create a connecting device to which the instruments can be reliably attached so that they are not pushed or released due to the media under pressure during the cleaning or care process and an uncomplicated attachment and release of the instruments for the user is allowed.